Status / Details
Christmas 2019, Special Tails
Additional Info
- The Abandoned Kitty
About Liliana
We have fostered more than one kitty that needed to recover from hip, pelvis or leg fractures. These kitties need “cage rest”. This story is about a little girl named Lilianna who was probably hit by a car. She was scuffed up and abraded on a flank and she had broken the top of one side of her pelvis. If she could be kept secure, and move very little, her broken pieces would hopefully come together and heal. Lilianna was microchipped but her family never responded to calls from the shelter’s. It’s quite possible they were the ones who brought her to the shelter.
When Liliana arrived she wanted nothing to do with anyone; she was cranky, reclusive, and probably in great pain. She was a very small, but very beautiful kitty, who had been ear tipped. We gave her a teepee and she stayed in it almost all the time for weeks. She always lay on her hurt side, so it was hard to examine her.
Usually at night, when we weren’t around, she would walk the couple steps to her litter box and her food dishes. Of course, we worried that her bones would not grow together and she would need a pin to be surgically placed. We gave her pain meds, made eye contact, and spent time with her, occasionally petting her as she allowed it. As weeks passed, her expression changed; she was more open and more responsive to us. It was hard to resist picking her up and cuddling her, she was such a little cutie, but she didn’t want that. We believe that her life had been hard, with little kindness given, or security offered. We doubt she had ever really bonded with a human she could trust before. She was definitely not a pampered girl.
But yes, this story has a very happy ending. As Liliana healed, she showed what a loving, affectionate, girl she really is. A young female vet and her fiancée came to meet her. She purred and seemed to really like them. Of course, she smacked them a bit, to tell them who the boss was. It was actually perfect since they were looking for a combination of sweetness and sass and they loved her immediately. To her forever home Liliana went.
After her first few days of being very reclusive her family now writes: “Little miss Lily is really blossoming. She is the perfect fit for our family, and she is that perfect mix of sweet and sass that I was looking for. And sweet she is – she is very snuggly, she loves lying on my chest making muffins, and she sleeps with us in the bed all night purring away. And sassy she most definitely is – she is a huge personality! She demands attention and she walks around like she owns the place (which of course she does).”
So Liliana is home at last. She is learning what it is like to be loved and cherished. Her troubled beginning, and hard luck storyline, has led her to a lifetime of happiness with her wonderful new family. Happy ending for all.
Sometimes all that shelter kitties need is time to become adoptable. They need time to recover from bodily injury, from grief and bereavement, from trauma, from violence, from depression. Overwhelmed with all the dogs and cats coming in every day, shelters simply cannot offer these cats the luxury of time. This is where rescues can step in to and allowing them the needed time to heal.